Sylvia communis - Whitethroat

Phylum: Chordata - Class: Aves - Order: Passeriformes - Family: Sylviidae

Identification - Distribution - Lifecycle - Food - Predators - Reference Sources

This summer visitor to Britain is a warbler about the size of a Great Tit and with a typical wingspan of 21cm. Wintering in sub-Saharan Africa, Whitethroats arrive in Britain in late March and April, the males appearing before the females. In late August, September or early October these migrants set off back to their winter feeding grounds.

Identification

Male and female Whitethroats are similar in many respects: both have white throats (the male beinga brighter white) and brown backs, but the cock bird has a pale grey cap and nape while the head of the female is a dull brown.

Distribution

Whitethroats in Britain are most often seen in central and southern England, but in small numbers they are found throughout Wales, northern England, and Scotland right up to the Shetlands. These lovely warblers are also recorded throughout most of mainland Europe.

Feeding

Whitethroats feed on insects in springtime and early summer, supplementing this diet with berries in late summer and autumn.

Breeding

In cup-shaped nests constructed from grasses, roots, hair or wool low down in hedgerows, scrubby woodland edges or grassy tussocks, a single brood (very occasionally two) of typically four to five eggs is laid. The incubation period is about 12 days, and the young fledge within two weeks of hatching.

Acknowledgements

This page includes pictures kindly contributed by Will Bown.